A variety of devices have been developed for transferring heat away from thermal energy sources, such as printed circuit boards (PCBs) in order to avoid adversely affecting heat sensitive components. In one form of these devices, discrete heat pipes are assembled between individual metal sheets. Heat generated by electronic components is conducted through the metal sheets to the heat pipes where it is carried away by a flow of heat transfer fluid. Another known device employs a layer of thermally conductive solid material, such as thermally conductive graphite placed between two discrete sheets of material. Component heat is conducted away from the components through the thermally conductive solid layer to either a face of the solid layer, or to the edges of the layer where it may be dissipated.
Existing thermal management devices may require the integration of composite materials and multiple interfaces, often with adhesives therebetween which have higher thermal resistance and may lead to poor heat transfer performance. Also, known thermal management devices may be relatively expensive to manufacture because of the need to assemble and fabricate multiple individual parts, using more than one process. These designs, as well as constraints imposed by existing manufacturing techniques, may limit design flexibility and result in less than optimum performance for some applications. Moreover, the continued trend toward higher circuit densities and smaller component sizes may exacerbate the problem of designing highly efficient thermal management devices.
Accordingly, there is a need for a thermal management device as well as a method for making the device that are highly efficient and have the flexibility to be adapted to a wide range of applications.